03/05/2020 - 19:01
- Clarín.com
- World
They are septuagenarians, they want to defeat Donald Trump and drag a parliamentary experience of decades. There ends the similarities between Joe Biden, leader of the moderate Democrats, and Bernie Sanders, who advocates a political "revolution."
After the super Tuesday, with the resurgence of former vice president of Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic nomination and the abandonment of other candidates, both are profiled for a face-to-face.
With a bright smile and carefully combed hair, Joe Biden is an old-fashioned politician, emotional and prone to physical contact .
His manifestations of affection (hugs, handshakes, even some kiss on the head of an ex-legislator) provoked a controversy that he deactivated arguing that he always acts in good faith and that it belongs to a time when social norms were different.
The former Delaware senator, 77, enjoys a relatively high capital of sympathy due in large part to the fact that he does not hesitate to show emotion and empathy. Even his numerous mistakes help to humanize him.
His private life was marked by tragedy. And the pain he experienced with the death of his wife and little daughter in a car accident in 1972 and the death of his son Beau from cancer in 2015 is well known to Americans.
Bernie Sanders, 78, with his rebellious white hair, has a more austere and rough style.
He is reputed to be grumpy and not very sociable, and although in political acts he appears relaxed and looks very close to his followers, during his passionate speeches he can give the impression that he is angry.
Super Tuesday in the USA
Joe Biden wins and takes the lead in the Democratic primary
Infographic: Clarín
Known and caricatured by the way he waves his arms or points his finger when speaking, the Vermont senator is fiercely independent.
Unlike his rival, a pillar of the Democratic establishment, Sanders was never part of the party.
His ardor in defending ideas decidedly from the left has given new impetus to the Democrats and has aroused enthusiasm among his supporters , but makes his critics shudder at his radicalism and consider him as polarizing as President Donald Trump.
Both septuagenarians have raised questions about their health. Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack in October, and Joe Biden often has ailments.
With its centrist positions, Biden stands on the side of continuity. For many nostalgic Americans of the pre-Trump era, more peaceful, "Uncle Joe" is reassuring and embodies a certain normalcy.
"People do not want a revolution, they want results," insists the former vice president referring to the radical measures proposed by Sanders.
"You can't beat Trump with the same old recipes," replies Sanders, who has defined himself as a socialist, a term that for many Americans who lived through the Cold War is still shocking, and proclaims that he wants to revolutionize the United States. .
The differences between the two men are also evident if their support base is examined.
Biden's success in the super Tuesday is due in large part to his popularity among the black electorate . It was also preferred by women, the elderly and graduates.
Bernie Sanders was able to count, especially in California, on Hispanics , and also attracted young people and independent voters.
But the Latino vote is far from homogeneous, and its compliments of certain aspects of the Cuban revolution, as well as its long-standing trips to communist countries, a data dusted by its opponents, can harm Sanders, especially in Florida, a state key that houses a large community of Cuban refugees.
"Bernie" strongly believes in a complete review of the US health system, which he describes as "cruel," and advocates for free universal health insurance .
It also promises to erase all student debt, a measure that has been applauded by its supporters, but has raised questions about how to finance it.
Biden wants to present himself as a more flexible politician and is proud to be able to work with Republicans. Sanders' followers, on the other hand, reproach him and scourge him for being too complacent to the ruling party.
As for the students' debt, Biden goes less far than his rival, and proposes strengthening the ways in which students can relieve or cancel it.
Biden fiercely defends the health reform approved under Obama's mandate.
"Joe is going to have to explain" his program and his liability, Sanders attacked Wednesday, referring in particular to the support given by the former Delaware senator to the war in Iraq. When that vote took place, "Bernie", who was then a deputy, had ruled against it.
Source: AFP